Drain cleaners

ABSTRACT

A device for maintaining the drain of a receptacle, such as the usual household sink, in good water-draining condition, comprising a snake passing through an opening in the bottom wall of a strainer drain basket, the snake remaining in the drain trap for instant use, but being withdrawable partly or fully without great effort.

United States Patent 91 Boldan [451 Mar. 27, 1973 [54] DRAIN CLEANERS 2,637,058 5/1953 Anderson ..l5/l04.3 SN [76] Inventor: John Roldan, 294 Butler Rd. NIE, 1,935,128 l1/l933 Pullman ..4/286 Warren, Ohio 44483 Primary Examiner-Houston S. Be1l, Jr. [22] Ffled: 1971 Assistant ExamjinerDona1d B. Massenberg [21] Appl. No.: 124,305 Attorney-Michael Williams 52 US. Cl ..4/255 [57] ABSIRACT [51] Int. Cl ..E03c 1/302 A device for maintaining the drain of a receptacle, [58] Field of Search ..4/255, 256, 257, 286, 287, such as the usual household sink, in good water-drain- 4/291, 292; 15/1043 R, 104.3 SN, 104.3 G

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,077,516 4/1937 Dart ..4/286 2,454,884 11/1948 Peaden ..4/255 VII/I112: "'Il/IJ z] 14 2'0 ing condition, comprising a snake passing through an opening in the bottom wall of a strainer drain basket, the snake remaining in the drain trap for instant use, but being withdrawable partly or fully without great effort.

7 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATH-HE [1 MR 2 71975 'JoH N BOX-DAN ZZ%m//Mw ill/ A TTORNE) DRAIN CLEANERS BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY Sink drains become blocked from time-to-time and require cleaning for efficient flow of waste water. Many chemical cleaners are commercially available and are poured directly into a clogged drain. Since these cleaners contain highly corrosive substances, such as strong acids and the like, their use is extremely hazardous and many users have suffered painful and disabling injuries. Further, such cleaners may attack the metal and seals of drains and cause leaks and failures.

Flexible elongated cleaners,such as snakes, have been heretofore used, but these cleaners required that the drain be opened at some portion in order that the snake could be inserted and rotated, and this was a job that the ordinary householder avoided as much as possible because of the wrenches required and the mess that resulted. Plumbers are not always available and when a drain becomes clogged, the householder wants it opened as soon as possible. Further the cost of having a plumber open a clogged drain has increased considerably in recent years and therefore makes this an expensive item.

Attempts have been previously made to provide traps with build-in mechanical drain cleaners but, so far as I am aware, none has met with commercial success. Perhaps this is so because such prior attempts did not extend into the trap area, or because certain of the same required special connections which increased their cost.

My improved drain cleaner may be installed in a conventional sink without the need for tools or special connections, and accordingly, it is the principal object of my invention to provide a new and improved drain cleaner of the character described.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING In the drawing accompanying this description and forming a part of this specification there is shown, for purpose of illustration, an embodiment which my invention may assume, and in this drawing:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary side view, partially in section, showing my invention as applied to a conventional kitchen sink drain,

FIG. 2 is a broken plan view, showing a conventional strainer basket,

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2, but showing my invention applied to illustrate the small change in appearance, and

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of a kitchen drain, drawn to reduced scale, showing the snake partly removed from the drain.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIGS. 1 and 4 disclose the invention as applied to a conventional kitchen sink which has a sink drain basket 11 including a surface flange l2 overlying that part of the sink surface which margins the sink opening. The tubular body 14 of the drain basket extends through the sink opening and downwardly from the sink to a threaded lower end portion 15 which has an integral spanning wall 16 formed with a plurality of openings for the passage of waste water from the sink.

As best seen in FIG. 2, the spanning wall 16 of the drain basket is formed with a center opening 17 and a plurality of openings 18 surrounding the center opening and my invention is'particularly suitable for use with a basket having openings of this type. However, the invention may be used equally as well where the spanning wall 16 is not formed with a center opening but has a plurality of off-center openings.

In the normal installation, putty is applied between the under surface of the flange 12 and the adjoining surface of the sink, and these surfaces are drawn together in sealing relationship by a tubular member 19 which has an opening to pass the lower end portion 15 of the basket and an upper flange 20 compressing a gasket 21 between it and the adjoining undersurface of the sink. A nut 22 threaded on the lower end portion of the strainer basket urges the flanges 12 and 20 into their sealing positions.

Normally, a short drain tube 23 is used in the drain connection. This tube has an upper flared end 24 which is clampedrto the lower end of the portion 15 by a coupling nut 25 threaded on the portion 15. A gasket 26 may be interposed between the flared end 24 and the nut 25 for sealing purposes.

A coupling nut 27 secures one leg 28 of the U-shaped trap 29 to the lower end of the drain tube 23, and a further nut30 secures the other leg 31 of the trap to a drain tube 32 which is adapted to be connected to a sewer line.

My invention utilizes a flexible elongated cleaning member, here shown as formed in part by a conventional snake 33 having its greater part formed of tightly wound wire 34 and terminating in a bulbous portion 35' which is of greater diameter than the portion 34 with the convolutions expanded as best seen in FIG. 1.

The snake portion 34 is of a diameter just slightly smaller than the diameter of the central opening 17 of the drain basket. To insert the snake, the bulbous portion 35 is easily threaded through the central opening 17 and then the snake may be pushed by hand to position within the trap 29 and tube 32, although some slight rotation may be necessary to pass the inside joint made by the nut 30. Since the snake 33 is stiff, but flexible, it will generally follow a path as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 1. In the illustrated embodiment, the snake 33 is made long enough so that its bulbous end 35 extends outwardly of the tube 32, although its length may be varied to suit preferences.

The snake is provided with a circular flange-like abutment 36 (see FIG. 1) which engages the upper surface of the spanning wall to limit insertion of the snake,and a head 37 extends upwardly from the abutment and is adapted to be engaged by a tool for rotating the snake. In the illustrated embodiment, the head is in the form of a hexagonal member and a socket 38 of a hand crank 39 is adapted to fit over the'head. The crank may easily be stored in the kitchen cabinet under the sink, for use when needed.

As seen in FIG. 1, the head does not interfere with the removable strainer 40 (shown in dotted lines), and as seen in FIG. 3, the head does not interfere with waste water flow through the openings 16. Therefore, my invention does not interfere with normal operations of the sink and drain and to the ordinary observer is not even noticeable. Yet, when the drain becomes clogged,

the snake, being stored in the drain, is instantly available and all one has to do is to fit the socket 38 of the crank 39 over the head 37 and rotate the crank. Thus, the snake 33 is rotated and because of its stiff but flexible nature will scrape around the inside surface of the trap 29 and tube 32 to clean the same. In the event a severe obstruction occurs, the snake 33 may be partially withdrawn from the drain, as seen in FIG. 4, so that the bulbous portion 35 will be drawn through the obstruction. Normally, the snake may be withdrawn merely by grasping the head 37 with the fingers and pulling. However, to provide for additional force, the

.head 37 and socket 38 may have diametrical holes 41,

42, respectively which are aligned for the reception of a pin (not shown) so that lifting may be applied to the crank.

When the drain obstruction has been cleared, the snake may be simply returned to stored position (assuming it has been partiallywithdrawn) by pressing downwardly on the head 37 until the abutment 36 engages the spanning wall 16 of the drain basket.

In some constructions, the strainer basket is not provided with a central opening 17, but is provided with a plurality of off-center openings. However, this causes no difficulty since the snake may be inserted through one of the off-center openings and will function in the manner described above.

I claim:

1. In a sink drain assembly including a drain trap, and an upwardly open sink drain basket connected to said trap at its upstream end, wherein said basket includes a plurality of drain openings therethrough, the improvement comprising:

a flexible elongated cleaning member extending through one of said basket openings and into said trap,

said cleaning member having a transverse flangelike abutment at its upper end seated upon peripheral portions of said basket about said one opening thereby to limit insertion of said member through said one opening,

' said cleaning 'member having a loose fit within said one openingadjacent said abutment thereby to permit rotation of said member and retraction of said member through said opening, and, said member having a head adjacent said abutment extending upwardly therefrom for receiving tool means to effect rotation of said member. 2. The sink drain assembly of claim 1 wherein said one strainer opening is disposed centrally of said.

basket, and the remaining openings surround said central opening.

3. The sink drain assembly of claim 1 wherein said head is disposed fully within said basket and below the upper end thereof thereby to permit stoppering of the drain basket thereabove.

4. The sink drain assembly of claim 3 wherein said head is disposed below the lower end of a strainer member received in said basket.

5. A snake for use with a sink having a drain basket therein provided with a plurality of drain openings therethrough, said snake comprising: 7

an elongated flexible member having sufficient rigidity for insertion through one of said opening and the drain pi es adjacent said basket, said flexible mem er being smaller at one end than said drain basket opening thereby to permit both rotation and retraction thereof through said opening,

a flangelike abutment adjacent said member having one end of a dimension greater than that of said opening, thereby to limit passage of said snake 

1. In a sink drain assembly including a drain trap, and an upwardly open sink drain basket connected to said trap at its upstream end, wherein said basket includes a plurality of drain openings therethrough, the improvement comprising: a flexible elongated cleaning member extending through one of said basket openings and into said trap, said cleaning member having a transverse flangelike abutment at its upper end seated upon peripheral portions of said basket about said one opening thereby to limit insertion of said member through said one opening, said cleaning member having a loose fit within said one opening adjacent said abutment thereby to permit rotation of said member and retraction of said member through said opening, and, said member having a head adjacent said abutment extending upwardly therefrom for receiving tool means to effect rotation of said member.
 2. The sink drain assembly of claim 1 wherein said one strainer opening is disposed centrally of said basket, and the remaining openings surround said central opening.
 3. The sink drain assembly of claim 1 wherein said head is disposed fully within said basket and below the upper end thereof thereby to permit stoppering of the drain basket thereabove.
 4. The sink drain assembly of claim 3 wherein said head is disposed below the lower end of a strainer member received in said basket.
 5. A snake for use with a sink having a drain basket therein provided with a plurality of drain openings therethrough, said snake comprising: an elongated flexible member having sufficient rigidity for insertion through one of said opening and the drain pipes adjacent said basket, said flexible member being smaller at one end than said drain basket opening thereby to permit both rotation and retraction thereof through said opening, a flangelike abutment adjacent said member having one end of a dimension greater than that of said opening, thereby to limit passage of said snake therethrough, and, a drive head adjacent said abutment having non-circular surfaces thereon to effect rotation thereof and thereby said elongated member extending through said opening.
 6. The snake of claim 5 further including tool means cooperatively associated with said drive head to rotate the same.
 7. The snake of claim 6 further including means cooperatively associated with said drive head to effect a lifting force thereon, thereby to retract any desired portion of said elongated member through said opening. 